A good layer gives you 250-plus eggs in her first year and under 100 by year five. The decline is the part nobody prices in.
Here is the number every cost estimate skips: your hens' best years are their first two. A pullet starts laying at 18 to 24 weeks, climbs to peak output within a few months, and holds it for roughly two full years. A production breed like a Leghorn or ISA Brown puts up 250 to 300 eggs in that first year. By year three, expect 150 to 200. By year five, many hens are down to an egg a week or less, and they keep trickling out occasional eggs for a few more years after that.
The decline runs about 15 to 20 percent a year once the peak ends, and it is lumpy rather than smooth: shells get thinner, double yolks show up more often, and a hen that used to lay six eggs a week skips days, then weeks. She is done with the sprint.
How long chickens lay eggs: the year-by-year math
Age
Typical eggs per year
Year 1 (pullets)
250 - 300
Year 2
220 - 270
Year 3
150 - 200
Year 4
100 - 150
Year 5+
Under 100
The commercial side of this timeline is blunt. Egg farms replace flocks at 18 to 24 months because the economics stop working once the peak passes. Backyard economics are more forgiving: you are not paying rent on a barn, and your birds do more than lay. But the feed bill does not fall when production does. A hen eats roughly the same amount whether she lays six eggs a week or one, which means your cost per dozen creeps up every year after year two.
That is the honest version. If you are running the numbers on whether chickens save money, price the eggs over the bird's full laying life, not her best year. Our cost per dozen walkthrough uses first-year numbers; add a year-three adjustment of roughly 30 to 40 percent fewer eggs on the same feed.
The retirement question, answered honestly
Most backyard keepers never cull. An older hen still earns her keep in ways that do not show up in the egg basket: she eats ticks and slugs, scratches compost, and teaches younger birds where the good dust baths are. Flock order matters too, and removing the senior birds can reshuffle the pecking order in ways that cost you eggs from stressed younger hens.
The practical response is replacement timing. If you want a steady dozen a week, add two or three pullets every year or two rather than replacing the whole flock at once. A mixed-age flock smooths out the production curve and the feed bill. New birds cost $5 to $25 each depending on whether you buy chicks or started pullets, which is cheap compared to a year of declining output.
Price the whole laying life, not just the peak. The free Backyard Chicken Cost Calculator lets you set bird count, feed cost, and egg output. Run it twice: once with 250 eggs per hen, once with 150. That is the difference between year one and year three.
One thing to watch: a sudden stop is not the same as a slowdown. If a young hen stops laying entirely, check light, stress, and molting before assuming she is done. Our winter guide covers seasonal pauses and what they cost.
Frequently asked questions
When do chickens start laying eggs?
Most hens start between 18 and 24 weeks of age. Production breeds like Leghorns and ISA Browns often start on the earlier end; heavier heritage breeds can take closer to 6 months.
How long do chickens lay eggs for?
Consistent laying lasts about 3 to 4 years, with the peak in the first 2. Production drops roughly 15 to 20 percent per year after the peak. Many hens keep laying occasionally to age 5 or 7, but at a small fraction of peak output.
When does a hen's production drop enough to matter?
By year 3 or 4, a hen that laid 260 eggs in her first year is usually down to 150 to 180. Since feed and bedding costs barely move while egg count falls, that is when cost per dozen typically climbs past store prices for most keepers.
Do chickens stop laying in winter?
Production slows in winter because hens need 14 to 16 hours of light to lay steadily. Short days, molting, and stress can pause laying at any age. That is temporary and different from age-related decline.
What should you do with hens that stop laying?
Most backyard keepers let retired hens live out their lives. They still eat pests, fertilize the garden, and stabilize the flock's pecking order. Others rehome them as companion or pest-control birds.
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